Erik Melén

- Head, Department of Clinical Sciences and Education Södersjukhuset
- Professor of Pediatrics
- Pediatric allergist, Sachs’ Children’s Hospital
- PI of the BAMSE study
- Chairman, CLINICUM steering group

Education
2019: Professor of Pediatrics
2017: Specialist in Pediatric allergy
2012: Associate Professor of Epidemiology
2012: Specialist in Pediatrics
2009-10: Postdoc, Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
2006: PhD, Karolinska Institutet (Epidemiology). Title: Genetic studies on childhood asthma and allergy - role of interactions
2005: License to practice (certified by the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare)
2001: MD, University of Uppsala, Sweden

Academic honours, awards and prizes
Prins Daniel's young investigator award from The Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation 2015 (link here)
Major research award from The Swedish Association For Allergology 2016 (link here)
PhARF / EAACI Allergy Award 2017
ERC Starting grant 2017

Respiratory and allergic diseases in children; role of genetic and environmental factors

My research projects aim to advance the understanding about the complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors involved in lung growth, respiratory and allergic diseases in children. The projects are primarily based on a Swedish birth cohort, BAMSE that allows for unique investigation of lung function, respiratory and allergic diseases in a large number of children up to adulthood. Detailed information about perinatal events, environmental exposures such as air pollution and tobacco smoke exposure from birth and onwards has been collected. Currently, we are also performing a targeted COVID-19 follow-up of the cohort.

In our ongoing genetics projects, genome-wide approaches are primarily used (GWAS, global methylation analyses and RNA sequencing / microarray approaches) together with detailed clinical and epidemiological data. Extensive national and international collaboration is established (e.g. through the PERMEABLE, GABRIEL, EAGLE and MeDALL projects). Recently, we have engaged in exposome-related research within the EXPANSE consortium. From this translational platform for advanced studies using clinical and epidemiological data sets, we are performing projects that will generate exciting new information in areas that have been little explored so far. For example, the long-term consequence of preterm birth on lung function in young adulthood; identification of subgroups of the population that are particularly vulnerable to air pollution exposures; clarification of new genetic mechanisms for disease development.

Research group
Jenny Hallberg, Assoc. Prof.
Sophia Björkander, postdoc
Susanna Klevebro, MD, postdoc
Petra Um-Bergström, MD, postdoc

Gang Wang, MD, postdoc

Björn Lundberg, MD, postdoc
Simon Kebede Merid, Bioinformatician, PhD 
Ashish Kumar, Bioinformatician / Statistician
Maura Kere, MD, PhD student

Fredrik Larsson, MD, PhD student

Financing
ERC
The Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation
VR
ALF
SFO Epidemiology, KI
ERA-PERMED
H2020

Supervision to doctoral degree

• Fredrik Larsson, Do common neonatal conditions affect respiratory morbidity in later childhood and adolescence?, 2029
• Shizhen He, Biological mechanisms behind health effects of air pollution exposure from childhood to adulthood, 2024